January European Exposure Tour '07
“Coaches Corner”
By Sam Shweisky, UNLV

Let’s start at the beginning. Sunday, August 18, 2002, Maribor, Slovenia. A 23 year old, longhaired version of myself began his first Bring It USA Exposure Tour as a player. It was an amazing experience that led me to a great team in the south of Holland to play libero for one of the best years of my life.

Sam’s Team “Hajraa” in Holland, 2002

Fast forward 4.5 years and the 27 year old version now found himself on a plane back to Europe on another Bring It USA Exposure Tour, this time as a coach. Excited to be back in Euro-Volley-land (where their consistent use of shopping carts for ball carts never ceases to amaze me) I arrived in Prague on January 7 eager to coach some volleyball and expand my international connections.

The girls arrived on January 8 and we had two practices. By the end of the second practice most of the girls had dusted off their jet lag and there was some good volleyballing going on. Practices ran smoothly as all the coaches worked very well together. Tim and Cory had assembled a great staff, who were really fun to work with: Erikka Gulbranson from Vanguard University/USAV, Chris Riley and Shelbylynn McBride from Virginia Tech University, Jeff Lamm from University of Tampa, Perry Robinson from Montavallo University, and myself from UNLV.

The continuity of keeping the coaching pairs together really helped us develop chemistry as a staff. By the end of the tour Shelby and I had developed a nice balance working together, which I think the players appreciated. It was also great to have Erikka, Perry, Chris, and Jeff around to bounce ideas off of and get advice from. Coaching this type of tour, Shelby and I tried to stay laid back, keep things fun, but remain task oriented and give the players relevant feedback in an attempt to help them find a job in Europe. The players were all very receptive which made working with them that much more rewarding.

The level of volleyball varied each night, ranging from top-level junior teams, to aging pro teams, to everything in between. The European style of volleyball is different than what most of our American players had been exposed to and it was definitely an eye-opening experience.

The first team we played, Olymp Praha, was a good example of an aging Euro-pro team that lulled you to sleep and then found a way to beat you in the end. The players from Olymp Praha were a bit older and did not impress us much in hitting lines. But in typical Euro-volley fashion they got the job done with crafty hitting, good ball control, and tough serving. American volleyball is often characterized as powerful and flamboyant while Euro-volleyball is often seen as efficient and practical. Middles often hit the deep corners and outsides live off their variety of tool shots. The first two games our power was overwhelming to the Czech team, but in games three and four, their service pressure picked up and we had no answer for their aging, yet brilliant setter, who was rumored to have set for the Czech National team. The Euro serves are often different than what our players are used to seeing in the states. They seem to control the ball more and put more emphasis on making passers move. When I played in Holland I never saw so many different types of jump serves, with different types of spin. In the end our girls had a tremendous time playing and cheering and that was exciting to see. It was a great first match to start off the tour. There was a high level of enthusiasm and excitement from the USA players, which was fun to be a part of.

On January 10th we went to watch Chris and Jeff’s team play the top juniors team in the Czech republic (Olymp’s Junior Team). The Czech team won all 4 games, with the BIP squad almost pulling out the last game 24-26. The Czech team was very well trained and very physical. Apparently this team traveled through the USA a few years ago and beat up on some of the best schools we have such as Long Beach and UCLA. Their opposite (or “diagonal” as it is called by many European volleyballers) was not only tall, strong, athletic, and had a heavy arm, she was also very volleyball savvy. She hit hard when she had to, tooled the block when she had to, and also rolled and shot the ball when she had to. A lot of the kids in Europe begin playing volleyball at 5 or 6 years old and not just bumping around, they have organized practices and competitions. So by the time they get to be 17-18 they have been playing volleyball for 10+ years and have the skill set of most Americans age of 22-24. Also volleyball is much more popular in European TV and in European culture, so kids grow up watching the sport and being around it more often.

On January 11th, Shelby and I coached against OK Benedikt, a team from Maribor. Even after 7 hours riding in the bus (from the Czech Republic, through Austria, and to Slovenia), our girls were very up beat with high spirits. We won 3-1 with lots of cheering and exuberance. American players are known for their cheering and loud communicative talk on the court. Often times European coaches will recruit American players with that in mind, so it was great to see our girls acting the part.

The girls on the tour seemed to bond very quickly and often times it seemed like they had been playing together for an entire season. There was however, some difficulty coming to an agreement on what type of defense to run. The players all came from such different programs with different philosophical approaches and concepts about defensive systems that it was a little confusing in the beginning. From middle-middle gold medal squared, to rotation, to various read defenses, all the players wanted to run what they had been taught for the past 4 years of college. Shelby and I had to convince the players to do some compromising so we could all be on the same defensive page. We came up with a kind of hybrid defense, which tried to let players do what they were comfortable with while not leaving too many gaping holes. In the end it worked out well, and I think all the players and coaches benefited from the open dialogue about the pros and cons of different systems.

As the tour began its final few days in Austria, it looked as though fatigue might be setting in. We had driven several hours from Maribor, Slovenia to Klagenfurt, Austria where we had a match that night against ATSV Klagenfurt. The match started slow and our players looked a little worn out as we went down 0-2. But then came some inspiring words from USA delegation leader Cory Solomon and the girls were fired up to fight back to a 2-2 split. The last few days of the tour in Innsbruck, Austria, the girls seemed to catch their second wind as their play was back to its old exuberant self. During the last matches in Austria the girls played really well together and finished the tour with a high level volleyball.

“BIP vs. ATSV Klagenfurt in Austria”

When the tour ended I headed off to Holland to reconnect with my old coaches and teammates to try and increase my international connections. My first stop was in Nijmegen to see a libero who played for a division II team named Vocasa. I’m not sure if she will be able to play for UNLV, but it was good to make the connection and see her play. I also got to speak to her coach and the director of her club, which was good to broaden my international network. That night I had a great reunion with my team from 2002 (Hajraa). A few of the guys I played with are still playing so it was great to connect with them from a volleyball perspective as well. Plus it was great to see my old coach (Wim Koch) who was an assistant with the Dutch Men’s National team in the Sydney Olympics and is very well connected.

Next I went to Lichtenvoorde, to see the top two “Honor Division” teams in Holland play: Dela Martines and Plantina Longa. Martines is coached by Avital Selenger (Arie Selenger’s son) and is comprised of 95% of the Dutch National team. It was a great match, with Martines winning 3-1, 27-25 in the 4th game. After the game I spoke to one of the Martines players (Kim Stallens) who is the girlfriend of an old Dutch teammate of mine. She asked Avital if I could come to a training later in the week, which he agreed to. It was great to be invited to the training and be able to take notes on the drills and watch how they run practice. After practice Avital spoke with me for about 20 minutes, which was really cool. Many of the coaches in Europe are very approachable and willing to talk volleyball to fellow coaches.

“Some pictures from the Longa vs. Martines Match”






As I left Holland and began my trip back to the states, my head was full of new ideas about training methods, game tactics, and volleyball in general. Europeans have a different way of looking at the game, and it is always so refreshing to engage with them and see volleyball from different angles/approaches. Also the constant exchange of philosophies and training tactics with the American coaches on tour was really awesome. I appreciate the coach’s openness and willingness to share ideas and talk shop 24-7.

All in all, the trip was a greatexperience. I want to thank Tim and Cory for putting on such an efficiently run tour. To see so many cities and get so many players exposed to so much volleyball in such a short period of time is not easy. But with the wealth of connections Tim and Cory have in Europe the trip ran so smoothly and everyone got what they were looking for. For me, it was a great opportunity to be back in Europe, get to coach volleyball, work with high level American coaches, make a lot of international connections, and get to see some top level volleyball. Tim and Cory: I can’t thank you guys enough for such a great time. This will certainly not be my last BIP tour.

-Sam Shweisky (Proud former BIP-client/UNLV)